You probably know a lot – dare I say, too much? – about The Weeknd’s new TV show, The Idol, which premieres next month. The HBO series will follow pop starlet Jocelyn (played by Lily Rose-Depp) as she falls into the influence of cult leader Tedros (that would be The Weeknd, who now goes by his real name, Abel Tesfaye). Despite reports of behind-the-scenes misbehaviour and a sense of trepidation from critics, we think The Idol looks good! But you may not know about Tesfaye’s other acting project, an untitled film, with an unknown plot, and no release date. To borrow one of The Weeknd’s less savoury attitudes towards relationships, treat us mean, keep us keen, I guess.
Here is what we do know about the film, per a Variety report. It stars Scream and Wednesday break-out star Jenna Ortega and Oscar-nominated The Banshees of Inisherin actor Barry Keoghan, as well as Tesfaye himself in a lead role. Tesfaye produced and wrote it, while Trey Edward Shults (Waves, It Comes at Night) is directing. Reza Fahim is a co-writer and producer Oneohtrix Point Never will be scoring the project, which was shot in Los Angeles. This week, reports circulated on Twitter that filming had finished. While unsourced tweets should usually be taken with a few grams of salt, Tesfaye retweeted one of those messages from an account named “Weeknd Insider” (it seems like they, of all accounts, would know!).
Now, onto the fun part: speculating about everything else. What could a movie, co-written and starring Tesfaye, possibly be about? In case the name change made you forget, the Canadian rapper made his name with a series of sleazy, intimate mixtapes before sometimes-inventively, sometimes-unsuccessfully melding that sound with Swedish music-mathematician Max Martin to become one of the biggest pop stars in the world. No matter the sound, the writing stayed remarkably provocative; his first number one, “The Hills”, is about fear and loathing in Los Angeles, while the 2015 juggernaut “Can’t Feel My Face” was widely-assumed to be about cocaine (it is 100% about cocaine). Both those themes will surely make it into the mix: good! Tesfaye cut his teeth on these topics, and he does it well.
Ortega and especially Keoghan’s presence suggest, at least to this hopeful writer, that the film may have a few more tricks up its sleeve. Ortega is known for bringing a playful, sardonic edge to proceedings, while Keoghan is an unnerving, compulsively watchable screen presence. And even if he has left behind his nomenclature, Tesfaye’s last fully-fledged outing as The Weeknd, 2022’s Dawn FM, was an inventive, existential concept album and career highlight. If it is to be another familiar Tesfaye entry, circling themes of self-loathing, drugs, and regret, at least it is set to be a well-acted one. But until we know more about the project, let us send a little wish into the ether: how great would it be to have an out-and-out romantic comedy from this team? Tesfaye has explored tenderness before, and it would be an unexpected turn from scream-queen Ortega and sad boy Keoghan.
After a decade in the game, the biggest surprise Tesfaye could pull? A happy ending.
Henry Wong is a senior culture writer at Esquire, working across digital and print. He covers film, television, books, and art for the magazine, and also writes profiles.
